Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park

Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park is located between Tusculum Avenue and Columbia Parkway, and offers a breathtaking vantage point overlooking the Ohio River.

The area was originally called Bald Hill; trees had been cleared for a lookout to spot Indians. At one time, the land was owned by Nicholas Longworth and used as a pre-Civil War vineyard. The entrance to his underground wine cellar is visible just northeast of the park’s pavilion.

The original park area was acquired in 1916 as a gift from Eleanora C.U. Alms, in memory of her husband, Frederick. Surrounding pieces of land were gradually purchased to create the 93.7-acre park seen today.

Designed by Albert D. Taylor, a Cleveland-based landscape architect of national stature, the entrance to the park features stately stone walls with tall piers that were installed in 1929.

The Stephen Foster Memorial Statue, donated by Josiah Lilly, looks to the Kentucky hills. They inspired so many of the songs written by Foster during the period between 1845 and 1850, when he lived near the Cincinnati waterfront. Foster is known for writing "My Old Kentucky Home" and a number of other heartfelt songs of the South.

The park's Italian Renaissance-inspired centerpiece, the pavilion, was completed in 1929, and was designed by architects Stanley Matthews and Charles Wilkins Short Jr. The front terrace and walks were designed by Taylor, who also designed landscape plans for the pavilions in Ault and Mount Echo parks.